Movable support

ABSTRACT

A moveable support which may be in the form of a coaster to support a glass and which operates in a manner to provide entertainment for the user. When a weight such as a glass filled with liquid is placed on the support, it automatically begins to move and stops as soon as the weight is removed. If after a weight has been placed on the support, and the support moves to the end of a surface, such as a table, the moveable support will automatically stop to prevent the moveable support from passing over the edge of the table.

til ll Muted @teites Potent [151 messes Ginsberg et oil, 1 Welt 22;, R972 [54] MUWAWLE SUPIPUMT FOREKGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS inventors: Arthur e, Great Neck, M w 1,106,398 "1955 France ..46/208 mu ll-llilrnm, Tokyo, Japan 73 Assignee: Royal Minion, on, New York, NY. Examiner-l-ouis Assistant ExaminerA. Heinz [22] filed: W69 Attorney-March, LeFever& Wyatt [21] App]. No.: $65,642

[57] MMIRACT [52] US. (ll 46/208, 46/ 106 A moveable support which may be in the form of a coaster to [51] lot. (ll. ..A63h 117/09 support a glass and which operates in a manner to provide en- [58] Field oil Search ..46/208 tertainment for the user. When a weight such as a glass filled with liquid is placed on the support, it automatically begins to [56] References Um move and stops as soon as the weight is removed. if after a UNITED STATES PATENTS weight has been placed on the support, and the support moves to the end of a surface, such as a table, the moveable support COHVCI'SG automatically top to prgvent the moveable uppgrt from 6 1 6 L hr passing over the edge of the table. 2,659,179 11/1953 Muller..... 2,735,222 2/1956 Glass 45 Qlnims, 10 Drawing Figures MOVABLE SUPPORT The present invention relates to a moveable support and more particularly to a novel moveable support that operates in a manner adapted to provide amusement for the user.

lt is the object of the present invention to provide a moveable support that will start to move when a weight is placed thereon and will automatically stop when the weight is removed therefrom.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such a moveable support which will, after a weight is placed thereon and the support moves to the end of a table or the like, automatically stop when it reaches the end of the table.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a moveable support in the form of a coaster that operates in a manner that provides entertainment for the user.

It has now been found that the foregoing and related objects can be readily obtained in a moveable support that has a frame and a housing moveably mounted on the frame. Wheels are mounted on the support and a bias member is advantageously provided between the frame and the housing. A drive mechanism for operating the wheels to move the support has a brake mechanism operable to control the movement of the support. A stop is engageable with the brake mechanism, and the housing and the frame are positioned by the biasing member to place the stop in engagement with the brake mechanism when there is no load on the support. The stop is moved out of the range of the brake mechanism against the support of the biasing member when a load is placed on the support whereby the support starts to move. In order to stop the moveable support when it reaches the end of a table, a control member is moveably mounted on the support and has a nose portion extending below the support and a projection portion engageable with the brake mechanism.

The drive means may include a coil drive spring and a gear train connected to the wheels. An advantageous construction of the brake mechanism includes another gear train engageable with the first gear train, and having a brake member engageable with the stop and the control member. In a desirable construction, the control member is pivotally mounted on the frame with the nose portion extending to one side of the pivotal mounting and the projection portion extending to the other side thereof. The nose portion is designed to be heavier than the projection portion in order to cause the nose portion to pivot the control member when the support reaches the end of a table so that the nose portion will fall below the plane of the surface of the table supporting the wheels in order to stop the movement of the support.

In order to provide a device particularly adapted for the entertainment of the user, the support may be designed as a coaster having a suitably formed receptacle area for receiving a container such as a glass filled with a liquid. When there is no glass on the coaster the drive mechanism of the device is blocked, however, when a glass filled with a liquid is placed on the coaster, the device will start to move but will immediately stop when the glass is removed. If the glass is not removed, the coaster will continue to move to the end of a table upon which it has been placed at which point the coaster will automatically stop to prevent the coaster and the glass from falling off the end of the table.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the movable coaster of this invention with a partially filled glass disposed thereon.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom side of the movable coaster.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the coaster with the cover plate removed.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the coaster.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the coaster with the cover broken away for clarity of illustration.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 illustrating the operation of the coaster when a glass filled with liquid is placed thereon.

FIGS. 7a and 7b are fragmentary views to an enlarged scale illustrating the brake mechanism of the coaster.

FIGS. 8a and 8b are fragmentary views illustrating the con trol mechanism of the coaster.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the movable coaster of this invention, generally designated by the numeral 10, has a cover 12 and a bottom plate 14 attached to the cover by suitable means. A base plate 20, rigidly mounted on the bottom plate 114 near the forward end thereof, has a pair of opposed upwardly extending side flanges 22a and 22b. A front axle 24, supported by the flanges 22a and 22b and extending therebetween, has centrally mounted thereon a single front wheel 26 which extends through suitable openings in the base plate 20 and the bottom plate 14 so that a portion of the front wheel 26 extends below the under surface of the bottom plate 14.

A mainframe 30 having a pair of downwardly extending flanges 32a and 32b is pivotally mounted on the base plate 20 by means of the front axle 24 which extends through suitable apertures in the flanges 32a and 32b. The back end of the main frame 30 has a wing member 34 through which a pair of parallel posts 36a and 36b slidably extending through suitable apertures in the wing member 34. The posts 36a and 36b are attached on one end to the cover 12 and on the other end to the bottom plate 14. The main frame 30 is biased downwardly about the front axle 24 by means of a pair of cylindrical springs 38a and 38b which are mounted with the post 36:: and 36b disposed therein and extend between the underside of the cover 12 and the upper side of the wing member 34 thereby biasing the main frame 30 downwardly to the position illustrated in FIG. 5.

A rear axle 44 is mounted on the main frame 30 in suitable bearing apertures in the flanges 32a and 32b of the main frame. A pair of wheels 46a and 46b are mounted on outer ends of the rear axle 44 and extend through suitable openings in the bottom plate 14 so that a portion of the rear wheels 46a and 46b extend below the underside of the bottom plate 14 to movably support the coaster 10 in cooperation with the front wheel 26.

In order to drive the rear axle 44, a spring drive and gear mechanism is mounted on the main frame 30. To provide a suitable housing for the spring drive and gear mechanism, a support plate 54 is provided spaced from the main frame 30 and attached thereto by downwardly extending flanges 56a and 56b. The rotating shafts of the spring drive and gear mechanism are suitably mounted between the support plate 54 and the main frame 30.

A conventional coil-type driving spring; 58 is mounted on a winding shaft 60, so that after the spring 58 has been wound and released, the spring 58 causes the winding shaft 60 to rotate in a conventional manner. The shaft 60 is connected to the rear axle by a gear train for driving the rear wheels at a greater rate than the shaft 60 in order to move the coaster 10 at the desired rate. To accomplish this result a bull gear 62 is mounted on the shaft 60 and is engaged with smaller diameter gear 64 mounted on a shaft 65. A crown gear 66 is also mounted on the shaft 65 and is engaged with smaller diameter pinion gear 67 mounted on the rear axle 44. Accordingly rotation of the shaft 60 by the spring 58 causes. rotation of the rear axle 44 and wheels 46a and 46b through the action of the gear train consisting of gears 62, 64, 66, 67 and shaft 65.

In order to provide a brake mechanism so that the coaster 10 moves at the desired time, another gear train is engaged with the shaft 65. This mechanism consists of a gear 68 also mounted on the shaft 65, the gear 68 being in turn engaged with a smaller diameter gear 69 mounted on a shaft 70. A gear 72 is also mounted on the shaft 70 and is in turn engaged with a smaller diameter gear 73 mounted on a shaft 74. The shaft 74 has another gear 75 mounted thereon which in turn is engaged with a gear 76 mounted on a shaft 77. Finally a brake member 80 is mounted on the shaft 77. Accordingly retardation of the movement of the brake member 80 prevents movement of the shaft 65 so that the spring 58 is not able to move the coaster 10.

In order to prevent the spring 58 from rotating the rear wheels 46a and 46b until a glass or other container filled with a liquid is placed on the movable coaster 10, a stop 84 engageable with the brake member 80 is mounted on the bottom plate 14. As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7a when there is no weight on the coaster, the stop 84 engages the brake member 80 and prevents the brake member 80 from rotating. In this position, the cover 12 and bottom plate 14 are tilted slightly upward from left to right as viewed in FIG. 5 due to the bias of springs 38a and 38b on the main frame 30. The bias of the springs 38a and 38b causes the cover 12 and bottom plate 14 to be biased in a clockwise direction (FIG. 5) relative to the main frame 30. However, when a weight is placed on the coaster as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7b, the cover 12 and bottom plate 14 are pivoted about the front axle 24 in a clockwise direction relative to the main frame 30 against the bias of the springs 38a and 38b so that the stop 84 attached to the bottom plate 14 moves out of the range of movement of the brake 80 thereby allowing the spring and gear drive mechanism to rotate the rear wheels 46a and 46b to move the coaster. If the weight is removed from the coaster while it is in motion, the stop 84 will return to its initial position to block the brake member 80 and thereby stop the movement of the coaster.

Once the coaster has begun to move along a surface when a suitable load has been placed thereon such as a glass containing liquid, the coaster 10 advantageously is provided with a mechanism to stop the movement of the coaster when it reaches the end of a flat surface such as a table, In order to accomplish this, a control member 90 is pivotally mounted on the main frame 30 by means of an axle 92 suitably mounted in apertures on the flanges 32a and 32b. The front end of the control member 90 has a downwardly extending nose portion 94 which extends through a suitable opening in the base plate and the bottom plate 14 so that it contacts the surface upon which the coaster has been placed. The opposite end of the control member 90 has a projection 96 which extends along the side of the main frame 30 into a position where it is engageable with the brake member 80. As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 8a, when the coaster is on a flat surface, the nose 94 is adapted to be in contact with the surface to pivot the projection 96 of the control member 90 out of the range of movement of the brake 80 so that it is free to rotate. However, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8b, when the movable coaster has reached the end of a flat surface such as a table, the nose 94 drops below the plane of the surface causing the control member 90 to pivot about the axle 92 so that the projection 96 moves into the range of movement of the brake 80 and thereby stops the driving mechanism of the coaster. The rear Wheels 460 and 46b are always driven by the spring 58 so that they move in a counter clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 5, in order to allow the control member 90 to always extend toward the direction of movement of the coaster 10. The control member 90 has a tendency to pivot in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 6, because the weight of the nose portion 94 of the control member is greater than the weight of the projection portion 96.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention.

Having thus described our invention we claim:

1. A moveable support having a front and rear portion, a

frame, a housing moveably mounted on said frame, wheel means mounted on said support, biasing means between said frame and said housing, drive means for operating said wheel means to move said support, brake means operable to control said drive means, a stop on said support engageable with said brake means, said housing and said frame positioned by said biasing means to place said stop in engagement with said brake means when no load is on said support, said stop being moved out of the range of said brake means against the support of said biasing means when a load is placed on said support, controller means moveably mounted on the front of said support having a nose portion extending below said support and moveable between a first position and a second position to cause said support to stop when said nose portion moves to said second position.

2. The support of claim 1 wherein said drive means includes a coil drive spring and a gear train connected to said wheel means and wherein said brake means includes another gear train engageable with said first gear train, said another gear train having a brake member engageable by said stop and said control member.

3. The support of claim 1 wherein said controller is pivotally mounted on said frame and said nose portion extends to one side of said pivotal mounting and said projection portion extends to the other side thereof and wherein said nose portion is heavier than said projection portion to cause said nose portion to pivot said controller when said nose portion falls below a surface supporting said wheels.

4. A moveable support including a frame, a housing for supporting a load pivotally mounted on said frame, a wheel mounted on said housing, spring means biasing said frame relative to said housing, rear wheels mounted on said frame at a point spaced from said pivotal mounting of said frame, drive means engaged with said rear wheels for moving said support, brake means on said frame spaced from said pivotal mounting of said frame and connected to said drive means, a stop on said housing engageable with said brake means, said housing being biased by said spring means with said stop in engagement with said brake means when no load is supported by said housing, said housing being pivoted relative to said frame against the bias of said spring means moving said stop out of engagement with said brake means when a load is placed on said housing, controller means moveably mounted on said support having a nose portion extending below said support and moveable between a first position and a second position to cause said support to stop when said nose portion moves to said second position.

5. The support of claim 4 wherein said nose portion extends to one side of said pivotal mounting and said projection portion extends to the other side thereof and wherein said nose portion is heavier than said projection portion to cause said nose portion to pivot said controller when said nose portion falls below a surface supporting said wheels.

6. The support of claim 5 wherein said drive means includes a coil drive spring and a gear train for driving said wheels and wherein said brake means includes another gear train engageable with said first gear train, said another gear train having a brake member engageable by said stop and said control member. 

1. A moveable support having a front and rear portion, a frame, a housing moveably mounted on said frame, wheel means mounted on said support, biasing means between said frame and said housing, drive means for operating said wheel means to move said support, brake means operable to control said drive means, a stop on said support engageable with said brake means, said housing and said frame positioned by said biasing means to place said stop in engagement with said brake means when no load is on said support, said stop being moved out of the range of said brake means against the support of said biasing means when a load is placed on said support, controller means moveably mounted on the front of said support having a nose portion extending below said support and moveable between a first position and a second position to cause said support to stop when said nose portion moves to said second position.
 2. The support of claim 1 wherein said drive means includes a coil drive spring and a gear train connected to said wheel means and wherein said brake means includes another gear train engageable with said first gear train, said another gear train having a brake member engageable by said stop and said control member.
 3. The support of claim 1 wherein said controller is pivotally mounted on said frame and said nose portion extends to one side of said pivotal mounting and said projection portion extends to the other side thereof and wherein said nose portion is heavier than said projection portion to cause said nose portion to pivot said controller when said nose portion falls below a surface supporting said wheels.
 4. A moveable support including a frame, a housing for supporting a load pivotally mounted on said frame, a wheel mounted on said housing, spring means biasing said frame relative to said housing, rear wheels mounted on said frame at a point spaced from said pivotal mounting of said frame, drive means engaged with said rear wheels for moving said support, brake means on said frame spaced from said pivotal mounting of said frame and connected to said drive means, a stop on said housing engageable with said brake means, said housing being biased by said spring means with said stop in engagement with said brake means when no load is supported by said housing, said housing being pivoted relative to said frame against the bias of said spring means moving said stop out of engagement with said brake means when a load is placed on said housing, controller means moveably mounted on said support having a nose portion extending below said support and moveable between a first position and a second position to cause said support to stop when said nose portion moves to said second position.
 5. The support of claim 4 wherein said nose portion extends to one side of said pivotal mounting and said projection portion extends To the other side thereof and wherein said nose portion is heavier than said projection portion to cause said nose portion to pivot said controller when said nose portion falls below a surface supporting said wheels.
 6. The support of claim 5 wherein said drive means includes a coil drive spring and a gear train for driving said wheels and wherein said brake means includes another gear train engageable with said first gear train, said another gear train having a brake member engageable by said stop and said control member. 